Bay Boys Track & Field places fourth at Lakewood Ranger Relays behind relay wins and strong throws

BAY VILLAGE, Ohio - Bay High School battled through cold rain Friday at the Lakewood Ranger Relays and still turned in one of its stronger early-season performances, finishing fourth in the team standings at Lakewood High School. The Rockets were just two points out of second place, a narrow gap that underscored how much they were able to squeeze from a difficult afternoon of weather and long relay events.

Bay set an early tone in the relays. The 4x1600-meter group of Dan Buttrick, Max Clevenger, Athan Thanos and James Greenleaf opened the meet with a strong effort that included several personal records. Later, the Distance Medley Relay delivered one of the Rockets' top finishes of the day, taking second place behind a lineup that got contributions at every leg. Liam Jager gave Bay a strong start in the 1,200, handing off in second, and Oliver Marotta impressed in his debut 400 leg, holding position and widening the gap. Mikey Taylor followed with a sharp 800 before freshman Gavin English anchored the 1,600 and held off pressure to bring the Rockets home second.

The sprint relays provided two wins. Bay's 4x200 team of Will Curran, Ben Kamm, Max Fischer and Jayden Perrine overcame an outside lane draw and some uneven exchanges to still claim first place, with Perrine closing hard to secure the victory. The Sprint Medley Relay team of Colin McAlea, Kamm, Curran and Perrine added another win in one of the meet's most competitive races. McAlea and Kamm set up the relay with solid 100-meter legs, Curran ran a strong 200, and Perrine finished the job on the 400 anchor with a controlled opening half before taking over down the stretch.

Individually, Fischer turned in one of Bay's standout performances in the 110 hurdles. He matched his personal best and finished a close second, while Jack Downing added a sixth-place finish to score for the Rockets. In the field events, Bay scored heavily in the discus relay, where Danny Zipfel, Braeden Egan and Ethan McCready placed third, fourth and fifth overall to win the event and collect 10 team points. The Rockets also finished third in the shot put relay, with Egan, Zipfel and Ilias Ghaffari combining for six more points.

There were other encouraging efforts across the lineup. Avery Banks, Marotta and Carter Baruxes fought through the conditions to place sixth in the long jump relay. Jager returned later in the meet after his DMR leg to post a solid 3,200-meter double. Bay also got a late look at its 4x100 team of Evan Taulbee, Kamm, Downing and McAlea, a group that showed potential despite exchange issues in the cold and wet.

In the 4x800, Mikey Taylor, Adrian Ray, Carver Vovos and Gavin English delivered a strong race before being disqualified on an exchange-zone violation. Even with that setback, Bay left Lakewood with a pair of relay wins, a hurdle runner matching his best, several distance PRs and a throws group that produced some of the team's biggest points. With the conference championship now four weeks away, the Rockets showed they can still produce results when conditions are at their worst.